Stargazing in Virginia: Dark Sky Parks with Ranger Patrick Mcnamara, Sky Meadows State Park (Ep 86, Part 1)

What if I told you that one of the most incredible outdoor experiences in Virginia doesn’t happen during the day, but after the sun goes down?

We’re heading into one of the most overlooked and truly magical parts of Virginia’s outdoors - the night sky. The kind where the Milky Way stretches overhead, planets come into view, and for a moment, everything feels a little bigger.

Virginia is home to several International Dark Sky Parks, places where the night is protected and preserved, not just for stargazers, but for wildlife, ecosystems, and even our own sense of wonder.

I’m joined by Ranger Patrick Mcnamara from Sky Meadows State Park, where programs like Astronomy for Everyone are opening up the universe to visitors of all ages. We’ll explore what makes these parks so special, what you can see through a telescope, and how you can experience it for yourself at a Virginia State Park near you.

So whether you’re a seasoned stargazer or just someone who hasn’t looked up in a while, this episode might just change the way you see the night. Let’s Go!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Virginia State Parks' International Dark Sky Parks

Sky Meadows State Park

Friends of Sky Meadows

International Dark Skies Association

Episode 41. Stargazing in Virginia’s Dark Sky Parks

Episode 76. Primitive Camping and Backpacking in Virginia State Parks

Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (Sky Meadows State Park)

Chapel Hill Observational and Astronomical Society (Staunton River State Park)

Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society (Natural Bridge State Park)

Crewe Astronomy Club (James River State Park)

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Transcript

Unknown: 1:02

From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is a mecca for outdoor travel and adventure. Virginia outdoor adventures Podcast is your local guide for hiking, camping, kayaking, travel and so much more. Get the information and the inspiration to plan your own adventure right here in Virginia. I'm your host. Jessica Bowser, what if I told you that one of the most incredible outdoor experiences in Virginia doesn't happen during the day, but after the sun goes down, we're heading into one of the most overlooked and truly magical parts of Virginia's outdoors, the night sky, the kind where the Milky Way stretches overhead, planets come into view and for a moment everything feels a little bigger. Virginia is home to several International Dark Sky parks, places where the night is protected and preserved, not just for Stargazers, but for wildlife, ecosystems and even our own sense of wonder. I'm joined by Ranger Patrick McNamara from Sky Meadow State Park, where programs like astronomy for everyone are opening up the universe to visitors of all ages. We'll explore what makes these parks so special, what you can see through a telescope, and how you can experience it for yourself at a Virginia State Park near you. So whether you're a seasoned Stargazer or just someone who hasn't looked up in a while, this episode might just change the way you see the night. Let's go. Ranger Patrick, welcome to Virginia outdoor adventures. Hey. How you doing? Really excited to be here. Thanks for having me, Jessica. How are you doing today? I'm doing great and super excited to talk about Virginia's dark sky park. So let's dive right into it. Patrick, when you think about Virginia's outdoors at night, especially under a truly dark sky, what comes to mind? For you? Personally, I feel very lucky to be a ranger here at Sky Meadows. And for me, usually, if I'm here at night, hopefully it's after a program that we scheduled and I'm just wrapping up for the night. It's kind of like my time that I just get to be alone with the park, and I just kind of get to be alone with the night sky. And it's not exactly quiet by any means. You know, there's a lot of nighttime noises in the parks, you know, whether it be the wind or other animals or insects, but it's a it's a good time to just kind of reflect and soak it all in and, yeah, just kind of appreciate the place that that I get to work in and be in. I can appreciate that because some of my favorite moments, especially in our state parks has been those quiet, slower moments. And I do get to do a lot of really exciting things in our state parks, but I feel like at the end of the day, when things are winding down and you're sort of, you know, hanging out by the campfire or hanging out at a campsite or a cabin, looking up at the sky and just enjoying that is one of my most favorite things to do. I love that you get to experience that as a ranger. And I'm wondering what made you want to become a ranger and share that experience with others. I went to college in Illinois, at Illinois State University, and didn't, didn't quite know what I was going to do, you know, with my professional life, but just kind of working in an office, working in an indoor location, you know, going into the quote, unquote, real world was, you know, somewhat intimidating, so I wanted to find an opportunity where I can try to postpone that as long as possible. And got involved with an Outdoor Adventure Club, and ended up changing a major to parks and recreation. And, you know, I saw that park ranger is, like, one of the things you can be if you get a Parks and Recreation degree. So it's like, All right, well, I'll give this a try. And if I can't get a park ranger job, at least, I can kind of land, at least in the outdoor world and and I'd be satisfied with that. Do you remember the moment that you first looked up at the night sky and felt that sense of awe and what hooked you? We went on a camping trip to go do some canyoneering out in Utah, and we had set up base camp at another state park called Goblin Valley State Park, awesome place, and really remote. One of the guys that was on this trip, he was a amateur astronomer, and he brought one of these laser pointers, like a lightsaber laser pointer. It's like shooting all the way up to the sky. And was pointing out stars and talking about some of the stories, you know, the mythological stories. And, you know, I just, I had never seen anything like that. I grew up in the suburbs, south suburbs, of Chicago, and, you know, I'd never seen a sky like that, and it was just so amazing to see just how many stars there were. And that's that setting, in that location, for someone who's never heard the term before, what is an International Dark Sky Park, and why is that designation such a big deal? The International Dark Sky Park, it's a designation. And that is given out by dark sky International, and so far, there are only 95 dark sky parks across America. So it's a fairly rigorous process to go through. The story really began for Sky Meadows long before I started working here, back in about 2015 and there was an initial inquiry for, you know, what is dark sky park? How can we be a dark sky park? And worked with some representatives from the dark sky organization, and took a look at our exterior lighting, and took a look at, you know, what the actual quality of the night sky is here by taking some dark sky meter readings. And one of the big components of this is having public access and doing education. Sky Meadows has been doing these astronomy for everyone programs for a number of years, far before we were a dark sky park. And really, when, when you become a dark sky park, it's, it's a lasting commitment to conserving dark skies, to maintaining public access and providing those educational materials for what can people do in their own lives, at home and while visiting other places to conserve dark skies. Virginia has several dark sky parks, not just sky Meadows. So what did you think that says about the state and how rare is that nationally? So Virginia State Parks is part of the Department of Conservation and recreation, so there's a few other divisions within our agency, but it really speaks to the cornerstone of conservation and education that the parks that are in Virginia care deeply about conserving our natural and cultural historic resources, in this case, natural resource of the sky, or an organization that truly values education and teaching people about how to be good stewards for this resource. So it is pretty rare on the East Coast, there are more dark sky parks out on the west coast, where it's a little less populated. But you know, what I think speaks volumes is that, you know, in a state like Virginia that's on the Eastern Seaboard, that you know has a lot of population centers, we still finds places that are dedicated to conserving this resource and protecting the resource. Patrick, why should we care about dark skies? What are we losing as they disappear? Well, we're losing a lot. For as long as humans have been around, have been enjoying the cover of a night sky, looking up at the stars, shaping our myths, using our dark skies for navigation, for calendars, and pondering our place in the universe, our place in the world. So when you can't see the stars, you you kind of lose that Link to the Past. And it's not just kind of like those, those larger, you know, more more heady things to think about. You know, it's also that directly impact us. You know, our own health. So when we lose our truly dark skies, you know, it can throw off things like our circadian rhythms, or tied to our alertness during the day, our blood pressure regulation and, you know, immuno response. You know, a healthier person is able to respond to other, you know, illnesses better. So it's truly a it's of importance to public health as it is to anything else, and you know, not to mention so many other animals. So migratory birds that are navigating by by night. You know, 80% of the migratory birds are actually migrating at night out on the coast. You know, the beautiful Virginia coast. We have the sea turtles. You know, they need a dark sky in order to find their way back to the ocean. And a lot of insects. There's, there's a number of studies that when there's, there's brighter lights that are on all night. It's attracting insects towards the light and away from plants that need to be pollinated, so their populations are hurting because they're not getting the food. And then it's also impacting plant life. It's one of those, those nature quotes that I've heard, you know, when you pull at the thread of one thing, you know, the the whole can unravel. So it's kind of like when this, well, you lose this dark sky. It affects so many other things. It's all those, those unseen consequences. Spring adventures are calling, and the latest Virginia outdoor adventures merch is ready to come along with the fresh, bold seasonal design. These ultra comfy hoodies and tees are perfect for life on the trail, around the campfire or wherever you roam, whether you're heading out for a hike, planning a weekend trip, or showing your love for Virginia's outdoors. This gear was made for you. Grab yours now and join the community behind the podcast. Every purchase helps keep New episodes coming so you can keep exploring. Find it by clicking on shop the Virginia outdoor adventures merch store in your show notes. Yes, light pollution is something that I think most people don't really think about, and I see this even in my own neighborhood. I have neighbors who believe that if they don't have their lights on all night long, that their homes or their cars could be broken into. Even our local police department encourages people to leave lights on all night, and our Hoa is always getting complaints from people saying that they want more lighting up and down the streets, around mailboxes, around parking areas. So why should we be thinking about the impact that all of this lighting is having on our dark skies? Not only just children, but adults are also afraid of the night. It sounds like you know, of the people feel a little bit more comfortable if there's more light. And I get it, lighting at night is is important for a variety of reasons. There's good quality, responsible outdoor lighting. And then there's the opposite end of that spectrum. And it's very interesting, because, you know, the Virginia crime prevention Association, they recognize that providing lighting systems that minimize glare, minimize shadow and light pollution, light trespass overall, will lead to more safe areas. So you know, when we're thinking about this outdoor lighting, I have the same things I work through at my house, right? A light burns out. I got to go to the hardware store, and I'm going to go pick out a light and seeing 5000 lumens, 7000 lumens, 10,000 lumens, like, one of the things that a homeowner can do is just make sure that it is useful, right? So only using light if it's needed. And, you know, thinking about, you know, is this just letting a dog out at night so you can see where the dog is doing a business. Or is this just from your, you know, getting out of your car to your front door. You know, you might not need the 270 degree broadcast of light. You just might need, you know, something along your walkway, for example, something that's targeted. So it's only pointing in the direction where it is needed, because there's another type of light pollution called light trespass where, you know, I see this a lot on commercial buildings, where it's just at night, there are lights shining out in all directions, mostly just kind of going right into the eyes of whoever's, you know, walking, you know, or driving around that building. So it's not really targeted. Maybe they're trying to illuminate a door or a specific parking area, but this is just kind of being broadcast everywhere, and it's going on to neighbors, you know, houses as as well, and something that is low level really, light doesn't need to be any brighter than is, is necessary. So you know, that cuts down on some of the glare that, if you've ever driven at night, the headlights that are coming at you somewhat overwhelming. So having a low level light something that's controlled. All the exterior lights that I have, you know, around my house are all on a motion sensor, so it's not something that's on a photo cell that just turns on when it's a low light, just goes on through the night. You know, it comes on only when it's needed, and generally speaking, people prefer a warmer colored light than a cooler colored light. So I often use the comparison of like, Christmas lights. You know, you go to the store, you're going to buy Christmas lights, you can have warm white or full white, you know, LEDs, and generally that warmer color, that's kind of the color of what incandescent lights, you know, used to be, is preferable to most people than you know, the harsher, cooler, brighter, whiter colors of lights, I would imagine also that that probably saves homeowners a lot of money by Not having their lights running all night and only using what they need instead of overdoing it, absolutely anything that you can do to cut your reliance on needing additional paying for that electricity is not only beneficial to you, but it's beneficial to everyone as a whole. Few activities bring you closer to nature and your family. Like camping, it's the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Imagine waking up in a Virginia State Park surrounded by towering trees, breathing in fresh air and spending your days swimming, hiking, canoeing or tubing. At night, you'll gaze at a sky filled with countless stars you'd never see in the city, and after all that adventure, you're sure to work up an appetite cook delicious meals over the campfire, and don't forget the s'mores fixings for a sweet ending to your day. 29 state parks throughout Virginia offer camping with a total of more than 1800 campsites. Reservations are recommended, and it's best to reserve a site as early as possible, or maybe a cozy cabin is more your vibe. Virginia State Parks provide comfortable and economical overnight accommodations. There are nearly 300 furnished climate control cabins of various sizes throughout the state. Many cabins are available. Around. If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern day life, you can't beat a Virginia State Park Reserve your cabin or campsite by clicking on Virginia state parks in your show notes, can you paint a picture for what makes sky Meadows such a special place for stargazing? It is absolutely fantastic. We are just so lucky to have our park the exact location that it is, because on our astronomy nights, we have it right up at the historic area, which is on a elevated Hill, you know, kind of in the foothills the mountains leading right up to the Blue Ridge mountain, and we are fairly well insulated from light pollution because of the topography that we have around that location. So to the west we have the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian trail that runs through the park, the big, you know, 2000 foot peaks that are blocking out light, you know, coming from the Winchester area. To the north, we have Paris mountain, and that's blocking out some of the light from some of the more. You know, not that there's a lot of light coming from, you know, rural Loudon, but there's, you know, some lights that are up up in that neck of the woods, and that's shielding a little bit of that as well. To the east, we have our own lost mountain as as part of the park. That's kind of shielding from some of the, you know, air points going to the east, you know, through Middleburg and into Northern Virginia. And then to the south, we have some other, you know, mountain ranges. We go down the crooked run Valley. That's shielding from Warrenton and Fauquier and the Gainesville area. So it really is, is a magical place where it's it's fairly well insulated from from all of those major metropolitan areas that sounds like it makes sky Meadows an ideal location. Now, I've been to Sky Meadows so many times, and I've attended the astronomy for everyone program, which is wonderful, such an amazing opportunity for people to come and learn about our dark skies and learn about astronomy. Now, the park partners with the Northern Virginia astronomy club. You might hear them called Novak. How does that collaboration enhance the experience for visitors? Our event would not be nearly as popular, and it really wouldn't be possible in its current iteration, if it were not for this fantastic partnership that we have with the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club. Over the last few years, we've really seen an uptick in participation from our visitors, and Novak themselves has seen an uptick in volunteerism on their behalf. Both of the organizations have grown alongside each other, and we both have this firm commitment to holding these events once a month, kind of in in perpetuity. We, you know, with with really no end in sight. The Novak folks are fantastic. During different times of the year, we'll have up to 30 volunteers come out, and they're all amateur astronomers who bring their own telescopes, and some of them are quite sophisticated. So you really get the full spectrum of scopes to look through. So they come out to our programs. They set up early. They're donating their time. They will pepper themselves throughout the observation fields. And once our educational program finishes, that's when they get to shine. And it's really explore at your own pace. Choose your own adventure. Walk on up to the volunteers. They'll tell you exactly what they are looking at. Teach you how to use the telescope. What kind of telescope are they looking through? They really provide a lot of great information to supplement the educational portion of these programs, I couldn't agree more, they are invaluable to this program and the experience for visitors. If someone shows up to astronomy, for everyone for the first time, what kind of experience are they walking into? Can you set the stage? It is a really great event. It's pretty low key, you know, you arrive to the park. You know, always encourage folks your first time coming out to the park. We've got lots of really great hiking trails and historic buildings and interpretive programs that you can can go on and explore. And it's just generally a lot easier to find your way in the daylight hours, because once the sun sets, we don't have lights, you know, that are out in the parking lot. We don't have lights that are, you know, going, you know, around the various areas. We do have a few red lights that we'll have out there to help people kind of find their way, you know, go into the bathroom and. The red lights, of course, preserve your night vision, so that way you can go walk over to our visitor center, you know, you can walk around the observation fields, and you still can get the full effect of of what your night vision benefits can do for you. So these these events kick off with a junior astronomer, portion read, but led by one of our park rangers. So the topic changes each month will kind of have a different, you know, could be they were talking about lunar phases one time, or we could be talking about some more of the, you know, the Greek mythology. We could be talking about navigation, really, any, any type of topic is on the table, then we have a real treat. We usually we have Dr woody Davis of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. He will give his presentation kind of a higher order. What's going on in NASA right now? What's going on in space? So, you know, with the astronauts that just went around the moon, that was a topic of discussion recently, and they usually have some more information about whatever the next big NASA initiative is after his presentation, then the hordes are ready to go out and explore their own with the volunteers from Novak. How special to have somebody of that caliber be able to speak to us about what's going on in Nassau. That's really cool. And one thing that I love about astronomy for everyone is the volunteers who bring out these telescopes. As you said, some of them are really big, like I know some of these people rent U haul trucks just to get their telescope out to the park. That's how big some of these are, and they're really impressive. And it's not just telescopes. Some people have really big cameras set up, or they might have their laptop hooked up to a special kind of camera that's taking pictures of the night sky, and you can almost see on the screen, as the photo is developing that it gets more and more detailed. And I just think that is so interesting, because the passion of these volunteers and their knowledge really can't be replicated by anyone else. They are there because they want to be and because they want to share their passion, their love for astronomy, with other people, and hopefully get other people hooked as well. So it's, yes, it's educational, but also they want other people to experience this passion and this love for the night sky that they also have. Would you agree with that? Yeah, it's it's really a grassroots, really, really an organic movement. People come out, they get inspired, they join Novak, they get, you know, into the into their observations. And that's what we've seen from from so many of our volunteers, is just what, whatever gave them the spark so long ago or or even more recently, you know, they're they're just excited to share what they're passionate about, what their expertise is. And, you know, just inspire the next group of visitors that we have here to do the same. Yes, and I know that there is nothing they love more than actually witnessing the spark happen for somebody else, right, like the moment that somebody looks through a telescope for the first time and they're blown away. And their reaction like just being able to witness that is so special. Our friend Doug, who brings the massive telescope in the U haul trailer, yeah, he had this setup one time, just looking at the moon. It was, I was closing the park one night, and he was here and just had it trained on the moon. And I was blown away. It was just like the book I saw, you know, in science class as a kid. I'm like, I you almost feel like you could reach out and touch it and and, you know, he gets to see, you know, I got really excited that evening, and that's something he gets to share, you know? And I think what keeps a lot of those folks coming back just month after month, and some people do show up every month for astronomy, is for everyone, because it's such an excellent program, other than the moon and some stars and maybe planets, we haven't even mentioned that yet. What are some things that people might see through a telescope on a clear night. Yeah, so, so the moon and planets, and really, it kind of depends on the time of year. It's pretty neat. Outer Space is kind of like the changing of the seasons, because the Earth is on axis, because we are orbiting the sun, depending on where we are in that orbit, you're going to see things. The night sky is going to look different at, you know, 10 o'clock. If you go out at 10 o'clock tonight, 11 o'clock tonight, and look up at the night sky, you go back and you do it a month or two later, you're going to see different constellations. You're going to see different phenomena up in space. And, yeah, getting to to interact and observe with the with the Novak volunteers, I've learned about a messier objects, which are just deep space objects that you know, they could be Nebula, they could be galaxies, they're they're just objects that this Frenchman had discovered some time ago and numbered them so there's like a. 10. And some of these folks, they've made it their mission to find all 110 but you can't do it all in one night. You have to come out, you know, throughout, throughout the year. So yeah. So we do have different star clusters, like the Pleiades, or different nebula that you can see at different points in the in the year. And then we also have meteor showers, you know, those are always a treat. You don't even need a telescope, you know, if you can have binoculars. But for some of those really popular ones, like the Perseids, that's in August, that's where you can get some of the big fireball, you know. And it just, you know, imagine a ball of fire falling through the air. That's what it looks like. They're pretty magnificent. Join us next week for part two, when Ranger Patrick shares what it's really like to watch someone look through a telescope for the very first time and some of the moments that have stayed with him over the years. We'll also hear about those rare, unforgettable nights when the sky completely steals the show. And if you're thinking you're ready to experience this for yourself, we've got you covered. We'll walk through exactly how to find programs at Sky Meadows weird to go if you just want a quiet spot under the stars, and what's happening at other dark sky parks across Virginia, from meteor showers to star parties and more. Virginia Outdoor Adventures is inspired by and supported by listeners like you, which is why your messages and feedback means so much to me. You can text me directly by clicking on Send Jessica a text message in your show notes, I answer questions, respond to comments and share your feedback on the show. Never miss a new episode. Sign up for my email newsletter and receive my listener resource guide with the top podcast episodes a Virginia outdoor bucket list and exclusive brand discounts for my listeners. Click on newsletter, sign up in your show notes or visit Virginia outdoor adventures.com thanks for listening until next time. Adventure on you.